Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-04-15
THE COUNTRY OF CONTRASTS.
FeudaIism Fading and Democracy and
Progress in Vigorous Growth.

| To the Editor of the Free Fress
DECATUR, Ala. April 9, 'S7.
Such is the old slave holding South to-
day. Yesterday rode out to a famous old
time plantation two miles out of town.
In the midst of one of the most beautiful
groves have ever seen, of 10 to 20 acres
of great oak trees towering up to almost
100 feet in height, is decaying mansion
house This was the famous Garth plan
tatiou. This old house, now with broken
windows and doors off hinges. with rot
ting caves and verapdas falling at the
corners was once the house of lordly
planter. Thirty-five hundred acres made
up this plantation, the home-place it was
called, and on it lived the master and
family, and over 1000 nigs, big and little
with other stock, mules, hogs and saddle
horses in abundance. The owner of this
place owned altogether some 1000 negroes
on his different plantations. These black
cattle would bring in the market from
$500 to $500 each in cash, and hence the
owner was a man of great wealth. One
of his plantations, some six miles from
this town. was five miles broad by seven
miles in length. What luxury and plea
sure this old house, with its go or more
large rooms, has seen. Darkles and horses
on the lawn dsrkies and guests in the
dining room darkies falling over each
other in the kitchen every member of
the family, from the todding child to the
aged grand parent, owned each his or her
body servant, beside the cooks, and
maids, and grooms aud others belonging
to the household as whole. Guests in
the chambers and on the piazzas tables
loaded with abundance music and
laughter among masters and servants /:
| Nxhi To CCi n N
and Ethiopian, master and slave in the
same little world and all happy and care
less. This at least is what appeared
around the mansion house; what took
place in the cotton fields where the ove"-
seer worked the field hands, who knows !?
Some one had to earn the money to pay
for all this princely luxury and hospital
ity.
/ am told by the descendants of the
owner of this great place, that he was IL
most kind and indulgent master, and that
his negroes were happy. | have no reason
to doubt that. am told that he never
sold slave, but as his black stock multi
piled by natural increase he bought more
plantations in Alabama and Mississippi,
and stocked them with the younger ne
groes. | rode out through the little viii
| lage of negro cabins, beyond the grove,
over the old cotton fields, now growing up
with scrub-oak, by the family graveyard
on the ridge, for every planter had his own
cemetery, and across the old race course,
where the planters raced their blooded
horses. Everything indicated an old re-
gime, a civilization that has passed
| away.
This great Tennessee valley held many
such plantations as | have described.
Four great planters hemmed in this old
town with it's few hundred inhabitants,
and choked it into a sort of asphyXia Few
planters knew how much land they own
ed planters might sell mig" now and
then to raise the ready cash, but it was
almost deadly insult to ask one to sell
an acre of land.
Before leaving the old, let me say that
side. Leaving out the question of cruel
ties to the slave, which was not the rule
but the exception (for few intelligent own
ers gratuitously abuse and destroy their
own property this life on the plantation
did bring about certain admirable senti-
ruling class here that feeling of noblessc
Oblige that survives even yet in the Gus
toms and polite habits of the once wealthy
ella sses. 1t did give rise to democratic
aristocracy which was admirable in its
way. Every man felt himself as good as
every white man, rich or poor, was as
good as king He belonged to the rul-
ing class. In the North the rich man
hardly expects his workmen to offer to
shake hands with him when they meet :;
but here the wood chopper from the
mountains, with his battered hat and
ragged coat, puts out his hand to you
with a frank manlness that is pleasant,
even il, at first, it is a little disconcerting.
The native here does not even dream that
because you wear good clothes and have
a thousand times more wealth than he,
that he is your in ferior in any respect.
The bad side of slavery i'll its effects on
the ruling classes may be summed up in
the words of a shrewd old Baptist preach
er, who once lived here, and was himself
rich planter and slave-owner: "Our
young folks" said he, 'are getting
so helpless that they cannot live no
how. Already it is, Niger, pick ur
my handkerchief; Niger, tie my shoe
and pretty soon it will be, Niger draw
my BREATHE The old regime, with its
good and it's bad has passed away. Now
for the new.
In all those years, while the worst sys-
tenn of agriculture in the world was eX-
hausting the soil by continuous crop.
Al no with corn and cotton tho hills nj